Tonight I trekked out to a northwest Chicago suburb to hear Lisa See, the doyenne of China lit.I expected a huge turnout but when I arrived ten minutes early, not a seat was to be had. I overheard another woman tell someone that she had to arrive 45 minutes early to secure a … [Read more...]
Book of the week–Song of the Silk Road
This week I read Mingmei Yip's new novel, Song of the Silk Road (Kensington, 2011). When I read her previous novel, Petals from the Sky (Kensington, 2010), I was struck by how she combined rich descriptions of Chinese family life with the French art of the absurd.In Song of … [Read more...]
China postcards over the years
Last week my friend Karen sent me a postcard from Shanghai. It was her first trip to China, and while she saw a Shanghai and Beijing quite different from what I visited 15-20 years ago, she encountered one thing that hasn't changed.It's damn difficult to find a postcard … [Read more...]
An evening with Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
To kick off Chicago's annual Printers Row Lit Fest, I attended a fabulous reading and dinner last night with Cheryl Tan, author of A Tiger in the Kitchen (Voice, 2011) at Town House Books & Cafe.With my 12 year-old son Jake in tow, I introduced myself to Cheryl as a … [Read more...]
Book of the week–Berlin 1961
I came across Frederick Kempe's new book, Berlin 1961 (Putnam, 2011), on GoodReads.com and thought it sounded interesting. So I clicked the link to enter the raffle. A few weeks later I won a copy!After 500+ pages, I'm left wondering more than ever if the bulk of the Cold War … [Read more...]
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